Object Detection Systems

ABSTRACT

Object detection systems are provided herein. An example system includes an enclosure formed by a sidewall to define an interaction volume, at least one light source for illuminating the interaction volume with a light, at least one light sensor that senses disturbances in light intensity due to scattering, reflection, or absorption of the light by objects within the interaction volume, and a controller that is configured to detect an object or object behavior within interaction volume based on the disturbances in the light intensity.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This continuation application claims the benefit and priority of U.S.Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 15/146,839 as filed on May4, 2016, titled “Object Detection Systems” and issued on Mar. 13, 2018as U.S. Pat. No. 9,915,732, which in turn claims the priority andbenefit of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/624,540filed on Feb. 17, 2015 titled “Object Detection Systems” (U.S. Pat. No.9,335,413 issued on May 10, 2016) and also claims the priority benefitof U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/291,471 filed on Feb. 4,2016, titled “Object Detection System Having Extended Observation Time”.U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/624,540 filed onFeb. 17, 2015 titled “Object Detection Systems” (U.S. Pat. No. 9,335,413issued on May 10, 2016) claims the priority benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 61/940,974, filed on Feb. 18, 2014 titled “ObjectDetection Systems”, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.61/968,296, filed on Mar. 20, 2014 titled “Object Detection Systems”.All of the above are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties including all appendices and all references cited therein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present technology pertains to object detection systems, and moreparticularly, but not by limitation, to systems that are configured todetect the presence of objects in an illuminated interaction volume todetermine object counts, object size, object movement, and so forth.

SUMMARY

According to some embodiments, the present technology is directed to anobject detection system, comprising: (a) a volume of space irradiated bylight to define an interaction volume; (b) at least one light source forilluminating the interaction volume with a light; (c) at least one lightsensor that senses disturbances in light intensity due to scattering,reflection, or absorption of the light by objects within the interactionvolume; and (d) a controller that is configured to detect an object orobject behavior within interaction volume based on the disturbances inthe light intensity.

Some embodiments include the controller being further configured to: (1)modulate a frequency of the at least one light source to account forambient light in the interaction volume; and (2) detect interactions bythe insect within the interaction volume by: (i) detecting modificationsof the modulated light by the objects; and (ii) differentiating theambient light from the modulated light through signal processing.

In one embodiment, a modulation frequency is chosen to be above afrequency of fluctuations or oscillations of the ambient light.

In another embodiment, differentiating the ambient light from themodulated light through signal processing comprises suppressing aconstant or variable background signal caused by an ambient lightsource, wherein the background signal comprises frequencies in the rangeof approximately 0 Hz to approximately 120 Hz, inclusive.

In yet another embodiment, the at least one light sensor comprises atleast one of: (A) a bright field sensor disposed in a location inside ornear the sidewall of the illuminated volume so as to allow the light tocontact the bright field sensor, the bright field sensor indicating areduction in the light intensity of the light; and (B) a dark fieldsensor disposed in a location inside or near the sidewall of theilluminated volume so as to prevent the light from contacting the darkfield sensor, the dark field sensor indicating an increase in the lightintensity of the light.

In one embodiment, the controller is further configured to detect a sizeof the objects.

In some embodiments, the at least one light source comprises a pluralityof light sources. The controller is further configured to modulate afrequency of light emitted by each of the plurality of light sourcessuch that the frequency of each of the plurality of light sources isdifferent from one another.

According to some embodiments, the system further comprises anattracting light source.

In yet another embodiment, the at least one light sensor is positionedin a location comprising any of: (1) a location suitable for sensinglight that passes through and exits the interaction volume; (2) alocation suitable for sensing light scattered or reflected but not lightpassing through and exiting the interaction volume; and (3) a locationfor sensing the light intensity present in the interaction volume.

In some embodiments, the at least one sensor has a spectral sensitivityresponse with a maximum near a peak emission of a light source.

In one embodiment, the at least one light sensor comprises a pluralityof light sensors, wherein each of a plurality of light sensors has amaximum sensitivity near a peak emission of at least one of a pluralityof light sources.

In another embodiment, the controller is further configured to timestamp signals received from the at least one light sensor.

In some embodiments, the objects sensed are insects, further wherein thecontroller is further configured to detect and record a sequence, thesequence comprising a first time at which an insect is not present inthe interaction volume, a second time at which an insect is present inthe interaction volume, and a third time at which the insect is notpresent in the interaction volume, wherein detecting the sequenceindicates a count of an insect in the interaction volume.

In one embodiment, the objects sensed are insects, further wherein thecontroller is further configured to calculate a wing beat frequency ofan insect by detecting a waveform of light that is resultant from amodulation of light intensity by the wing beat frequency.

In one embodiment, the objects sensed are insects, further wherein thecontroller is further configured to calculate a wing beat frequency ofan insect by: (1) modulating the light intensity of the at least onelight source with a carrier frequency that is higher than the wing beatfrequency of the insect to create a modulated waveform; and (2)detecting a waveform of light that is resultant from a modulation of thecarrier frequency by the wing beat frequency.

In an embodiment, the controller comprises an envelope filter thatremoves the carrier frequency from the modulated waveform.

In some embodiments, an inner surface of the enclosure is aretro-reflective surface reflecting the light emitted by the lightsource.

In yet other embodiments, the interaction volume comprises a funnel anda trap disposed on opposing ends of the interaction volume.

In one embodiment, the at least one light source comprises any of alight emitting diode, a line laser, or combinations thereof.

According to some embodiments, the at least one sensor comprises any ofa photodiode, a phototransistor, a charge coupled device, aposition-sensitive detector, a solar cell, a photovoltaic cell, anantenna, a thermopile, or any combinations thereof.

In one embodiment, at least one light sensor comprises an arraycomprising a plurality of individual photodiodes, the plurality ofindividual photodiodes being electrically coupled in series, at leastone of the plurality of individual photodiodes is masked by an object soas to receive less light than non-masked ones of the plurality ofindividual photodiodes in order to reduce a current through the array,which results in an increase in a sensitivity of the non-masked ones ofthe plurality of individual photodiodes.

In one embodiment, at least one light sensor comprises an arraycomprising a plurality of individual photodiodes, the plurality ofindividual photodiodes being electrically coupled in parallel, at leastone of the plurality of individual photodiodes is masked so as toreceive less light than non-masked ones of the plurality of individualphotodiodes in order to reduce a current through the array.

According to some embodiments, the present technology is directed to anobject detection system comprising: (a) a light source comprising alinear array of light emitting devices; (b) a light sensor comprising atleast one linear array of photodiodes and at least one linear array ofsolar cells, wherein at least one of the solar cells is masked so as toreceive less light than non-masked ones of the solar cells in order toreduce a current through the array, which results in an increase in asensitivity of the non-masked ones of the solar cells; (c) aninteraction volume defined by a space between the light source and thelight sensor, wherein the space between the light source and the lightsensor allows for uniform light intensity throughout the interactionvolume; and (d) wherein the light sensor senses disturbances in thelight intensity indicative of a presence of an object in the interactionvolume.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separateviews, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated inand form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrateembodiments of concepts that include the claimed disclosure, and explainvarious principles and advantages of those embodiments.

The methods and systems disclosed herein have been represented whereappropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only thosespecific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments ofthe present disclosure so as not to obscure the disclosure with detailsthat will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the arthaving the benefit of the description herein.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example object detection system ofthe present technology.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flow diagram of an example controller and objectdetection method for use in accordance with the present technology.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another example object detection systemof the present technology.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flow diagram of another example controller andobject detection method for use in accordance with the presenttechnology.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another example object detection systemof the present technology.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of yet another example object detectionsystem of the present technology.

FIG. 7 illustrates a plurality of example light sources.

FIG. 8 illustrates a plurality of example light detectors.

FIG. 9 illustrates a selection of an example light source and an examplelight detector for use in an object detection system.

FIG. 10 is a top down view of an object detection system using theexample light source and example light detector of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the object detection system of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a light intensity model of the object detection system ofFIGS. 10-11.

FIGS. 13 and 14 are graphs illustrating the detection of insects (e.g.,objects within the object detection system of FIGS. 10-11.

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic representation of an example machine in theform of a computer system that can be used to implement aspects of thepresent technology.

FIG. 16 shows exemplary light sources.

FIG. 17 shows exemplary light sensors.

FIG. 18 shows exemplary illuminated interaction volumes.

FIG. 19 shows exemplary wingbeat detection systems.

FIG. 20 shows one exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 21 shows another exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 22 shows exemplary dark field sensing embodiments.

FIG. 23 shows additional exemplary dark field sensing embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is now described more fully with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which example embodiments of the presentdisclosure are shown. The present disclosure may, however, be embodiedin many different forms and should not be construed as necessarily beinglimited to the example embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseexample embodiments are provided so that the disclosure is thorough andcomplete, and fully conveys the concepts of the present disclosure tothose skilled in the art. Also, features described with respect tocertain example embodiments may be combined in and/or with various otherexample embodiments. Different aspects and/or elements of exampleembodiments, as disclosed herein, may be combined in a similar manner.Further, at least some example embodiments may individually and/orcollectively be components of a larger system, wherein other proceduresmay take precedence over and/or otherwise modify their application.Additionally, a number of steps may be required before, after, and/orconcurrently with example embodiments, as disclosed herein. Note thatany and/or all methods and/or processes, at least as disclosed herein,can be at least partially performed via at least one entity, at least asdescribed herein, in any manner, irrespective of the at least one entityhave any relationship to the subject matter of the present disclosure.

In agriculture and public health, surveillance of insects with respectto species and abundance is important. There are many insects that arepests (damaging property and crops), nuisances (causing discomfort topeople and animals), disease-causing vectors, or a combination. Vectorstransmit microorganisms that cause disease or otherwise harm people,animals, crops and beneficial plants. Only female insects needing bloodmeals to reproduce bite humans and transmit disease. Of particularconcern are malaria, Dengue fever, West Nile Virus, Zika virus,elephantiasis and many other serious and often fatal diseases.

Currently, insect surveillance is done by entomologists manuallycounting insects caught in traps. This approach is time-consuming,labor-intensive and costly. Moreover, it does not provide real-timedata, i.e. there are delays until appropriate action can be taken. Also,the data density is usually sparse.

A good example is given by the recent appearance in the US of animportant disease vector, the mosquito species aedes aegypti. Thismosquito is not indigenous to the US and is of great concern because ofits ability to transmit dengue fever and Zika, and its adaption to humanhabitation. Mosquito control agencies desire to eradicate the mosquitobefore it has a chance to get established and spread from the initialarea of introduction. The process is to set up traps around a locationwhere the invading mosquito species was found, attempt to determine howfar it has spread, and apply chemicals to kill adults and larvae intargeted areas. Other control measures include reducing breeding groundssuch as standing water in containers around houses. The efficacy oftreatment is confirmed by trapping. Unfortunately, only a few (oftenless than 10) traps are typically used in areas that may cover manysquare miles. This is due to the labor required for setting traps,retrieving the catch and taking it to a laboratory for counting andclassification. Furthermore, surveillance of the population overextended periods of time to optimize control measures and verify theirefficacy is often not possible due to budget constraints.

While most mosquito control measures involve applying chemicals thatkill adults or larvae, alternative biological methods are currentlyunder development. These methods involve the breeding and release ofmale mosquitoes that have been modified to render eggs unviable or toproduce sterile offspring. The concept is that the released malemosquitoes compete with wild males and mate with at least a portion ofthe wild female population thus reducing offspring capable oftransmitting disease. Repeated releases gradually reduce the wildpopulation until it gets so small that either effective diseasetransmission is no longer possible, or the mosquito population collapsesor remains at a very low level. These methods depend on the release ofmodified males only; females are not desired and detrimental to theeffort. One strategy is to sort young adult mosquitoes, and eliminatefemales, before release. This process is currently based on size orweight differences between male and female mosquito larvae and much lessthan 100% accurate. A detector capable of differentiating males andfemales in combination with a sorting device to separate females or akilling device to kill them would solve this problem. Mosquito sex canbe determined by measuring wing beat frequency. Typical mosquito wingbeat frequencies are around 500 Hz, differing by species, sex, age andother factors. However, given just one species and controlledconditions, the difference in wing beat frequency (lower in females) canbe used to positively identify females and eliminate them from thepopulation of biologically modified mosquitoes to be released.

While effective traps exist to attract and catch insects, no devices tocount, classify or sort insects automatically are currently available inthe marketplace. It is therefore desirable to provide an objectdetection system (ODS) which can be used to count insects, and toprovide information about wing beat frequency, size and anatomicalfeatures of the insect as well as other biological or environmentalparameters. Moreover, it is desirable to provide an object detectionsystem that has communication means to remotely report at least thenumber of detected objects such as insects, and is in communication withtrapping, sorting or killing means for at least a portion of thedetected insects.

In some embodiments, the present technology provides a volume of spaceis irradiated with light from a light source. Objects in the volume oflight (for example, flying insects) modify the light intensity byabsorbing, scattering and reflecting light, resulting in a change oflight intensity in the volume (“bright field”) and outside the volume(“dark field”). A light-sensitive detector comprising multiplelight-sensitive elements is placed in a location suitable for detectinglight from the volume. The light-sensitive detector is connected to ameans for signal processing for object presence determination. Whenobjects enter the volume of space from one direction and thereafterleave it in the same or another direction, the detector records asequence of transitions of the object presence signal that is used forcounting the objects. If the objects are insects, the detected lightalso carries information about biological parameters that is extractedby signal processing and allows classification. The detection system isin communication with a database and a cell phone or computer user orother means capable of taking an action.

The term “light” is used to refer to the electromagnetic radiation usedin the invention. Commonly, “light” designates electromagnetic radiationin the ultraviolet (UV), visible, infrared (IR) and microwave part ofthe electromagnetic spectrum. Light in all these spectral ranges may beused in the present technology.

These and other advantages of the present technology are described withreference to the collective drawings.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an example object detection system 100 (alsoreferred to as device 100) is illustrated. The system generallycomprises an interaction volume 102 and a controller 104.

In some embodiments, the system 100 according to the present technologycomprises at least one light source, an interaction volume, at least onelight sensor, and means for analog-to-digital conversion, signalprocessing, counting, and data communication. Another attribute of thesystem is that has the ability to attach time and date stamps to allrecorded data, and is in communication with a remote database or humanoperators. In some embodiments, the system 100 comprises means to takean action such as trapping, killing, identifying or sorting, if theobjects are insects.

According to some embodiments, the interaction volume 102 includes openends 102A and 102B that allow for the passage of objects, such asmosquitos 101, 103A, and 103B through the interaction volume 102. Insome embodiments, air passes through the interaction volume 102 in adirection D.

In some embodiments, the interaction volume 102 is an enclosure formedfrom a sidewall 106. The sidewall 106 can be continuous or comprised ofsidewall segments in some embodiments. The sidewall 106 illustratedforms a cylindrical enclosure although other shapes are also likewisecontemplated for use in accordance with the present technology. Theenclosure defines a three dimensional volume. Again, the volumeillustrated FIG. 1 is cylindrical, but other three dimensional shapessuch as a cone, a cube, a pie wedge, a box, a cuboid, or even anirregularly shaped three dimensional volume.

In one embodiment, the interaction volume 102 contains a plurality ofsmaller volumes that are overlapping, adjacent or separated by smallvolumes of space.

In some embodiments, the interaction volume 102 has a cross section anda height, with height being the smallest of three dimensions. The crosssection is at least one centimeter squared and the height is at leastone tenth of a millimeter.

In some embodiments, the sidewall 106 is manufactured from a transparentor semi-transparent material. In another embodiment, the sidewall 106 ismanufactured from an opaque material. In yet other embodiments, thesidewall 106 is manufactured from sections of transparent material andopaque material. The exact configuration of the sidewall 106 dependsupon the light sources and light sensors used for the device 100, aswill be described in greater detail below.

In some embodiments, the device 100 includes a light source 108 and alight detector or sensor 110. Both the light source 108 and lightdetector 110 are positioned in association with the device 100. Theexact position of both the light source 108 and light sensor 110 dependupon the composition of both the light source 108 and light sensor 110.

In some embodiments, the light source 108 is a light emitting diode(LED) or an array of LEDs that emit light through the sidewall 106. TheLED(s) light will emit light at a particular frequency or range offrequencies. Thus, the light sensor 110 is disposed on an opposing sideof the sidewall 106 and is configured to measure light relative to thatfrequency or frequencies.

In another embodiment, the light source 108 comprises an illuminatedstrip of LEDs, or a backlight similar to light sources used in flatpanel displays or car instrument panels.

In one embodiment, the light source 108 is a light emitting laser. Forexample, the light source 108 could comprise a line laser.

In one embodiment, the light source 108 emits light in the UV or visiblerange. In one embodiment, the light source 108 emits light in theinfrared (IR) range. IR light is present in an ambient light backgroundat a level lower than visible or UV light and thus IR illuminationfacilitates background suppression. Also, certain insects such asmosquitoes do not perceive IR light, so an IR light emitting source canbe used in embodiments where the system 100 is configured to detectmosquitoes.

The light emitted by the light source 108 can be shaped by means such aslenses, reflectors, line generators and diffusers. For example, thedevice 100 can include a light shaping member 112 that can include anycombination (or one of) lenses, reflectors, line generators anddiffusers—just to name a few.

In one embodiment, the light emitted from a light source is distributedthroughout the interaction volume 102 using at least one light shapingmember 112 selected from a list comprising lenses, Fresnel lenses,cylindrical lenses, mirrors, reflectors, retro-reflectors, filters(comprising high-pass, low-pass, band-path and dichroic), beam blocks,beam splitters, apertures, beam dumps, shutters, absorbers, diffusersand laser line generators.

Objects in the interaction volume 102 interact with the light producedby the light source 108. Example modes of interaction compriseabsorption, reflection and scattering. The lightinteraction/modification results in change in an intensity of light fromthe light source 108, such as a reduction in light intensity. Again, atleast one light sensor 110 is placed in a location suitable fordetecting the change in light level within the interaction volume 102.

In one embodiment, the light source 108 emits a collimated beam (forexample, a laser spot) or a thin sheet of light (for example, a laserline). In another embodiment, the light source 108 resembles afloodlight emitting light into a range of angles (for example, an LED).

The light sensor 110 can include one or a plurality of light sensors. Insome embodiments, the light sensor 110 comprises at least onelight-sensitive element that is placed in at least one location relativeto the enclosure. In one embodiment, the location where the light sensoris located is suitable for sensing light that passes through and exitsthe enclosure. In another embodiment, the location where the lightsensor is a location suitable for sensing light scattered or reflected,but not on a straight line between the light source 108 and the lightsensor 110 disposed near an exit of the enclosure. In yet anotherembodiment, the location where the light sensor 110 is located isselected for suitable sensing of the light intensity present within inthe enclosure.

In some embodiments, the light sensor 110 comprises a light-sensitiveelement chosen from the list comprising photodiodes, phototransistors,charge coupled devices, position-sensitive detectors, solarcells/panels, antennas, and thermopiles. In one embodiment, a lightsensor 110 comprises a single light-sensitive element (for example aphotodiode or phototransistor). In one embodiment, a light sensor 110comprises a linear array of light-sensitive elements (for example: aphotodiode array). In one embodiment, a light sensor 110 comprises animaging device such as a two-dimensional matrix of light-sensitiveelements. Image sensors may be of the type used in consumer electronics(e.g., cell phones cameras) and based on photodiodes, charge controlleddevices, or complementary metal oxide semiconductor pixels. Anotherlight sensor 110 is a high-speed camera. In one embodiment, a lightsensor 110 comprises a spectrometer. In one embodiment, a light sensor110 comprises a line scan camera. To be sure, combinations of thesevarious light sensors can also likewise be utilized. Again, the exacttype of light sensor(s) selected will depend upon the light source(s)utilized and the type of objects being sensed.

To be sure, there are many locations that can be chosen to position alight source and a light sensor relative to the interaction volume 102,in part depending on the configuration of the object-detecting devicesuch as the shape of the interaction volume 102, and the combinationwith a device to sort the objects according to a property of the object.

In one embodiment, the spectral sensitivity response of a light sensorhas a maximum near the peak emission of a light-emitting element. In oneembodiment, each of a plurality of light-sensitive elements has maximumsensitivity near the peak emission of at least one of a plurality oflight-emitting elements. In one embodiment, a light sensor is equippedwith a filter to transmit the wavelength of a light-emitting element. Inone embodiment, a plurality of light sensing elements senses light fromlight-emitting elements with different modulation frequencies.

When the light sensor 110 is continuously illuminated by a light source108, an object entering the interaction volume 102 will modify the lightintensity. A modification of the light intensity includes, in someinstances, a reduction of light intensity at the light sensor 110. Thischange in intensity is resulting from the light sensor 110 operating inbright field mode.

Since an object can enter the interaction volume 102 at any location,either focusing or reflecting optics are needed if the light sensor 110has a small area. An example photodiode has an active area of aboutseven square millimeters. The present technology, in some embodiments,employs a large-area detector to eliminate the need for such optics.

The light source 108 and light sensor 110 are both controlled by thecontroller 104. In some embodiments, the controller 104 comprises aprocessor 105, an analog signal processor 114, an analog to digitalconverter (also referenced as A/D converter) 116, a digital signalprocessor 118, a count and other parameters module 120, a local datastorage 122, a data communication interface (also referenced as acommunication module) 124, a remote database 126, an end user computer130, and an action module 132.

As used herein, the terms “module” and/or “engine” may also refer to anyof an application-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”), an electroniccircuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes one ormore software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit,and/or other suitable components that provide the describedfunctionality.

In some embodiments, the controller 104 controls the light source 108 toemit light into the interaction volume 102. In one embodiment, theintensity of light source 108 is modulated by the controller 104 with aperiodic waveform or carrier frequency using the digital signalprocessor 118. The frequency utilized can be selected from a listcomprising the following types: a rectangular wave and a sine wave.

In one embodiment, the modulation frequency is greater or equal to 100Hz. In another embodiment, the modulation frequency is 3 kHz, 5 kHz, 10kHz, 30 kHz, 33 kHz, 36 kHz, 38 kHz, 40 kHz and 56 kHz. It is notnecessary for a modulated light source to have a minimum intensity ofzero or to even be periodic; rather, the property that the intensity istime-dependent following a predefined pattern is the advantageous to theoperation of the device 100.

In one embodiment, the controller 104 controls the digital signalprocessor to control a plurality of light-emitting elements such thateach is modulated at different frequencies.

It should be noted that the change in light due to the presence of anobject in the interaction volume 102 is not constant, rather it is atime-dependent function of the object's speed, shape, orientation, size,motion such as wing beat (which changes the amount of light in arhythmic pattern), and other intrinsic and environmental parameters.

The light sensor 110 also is subject to impingement by ambientbackground light, such as light not originating from the light source108 or object but from sources nearby the device 100. The ambientbackground light can be significant and possibly exceed the signalgenerated by an object within the interaction volume 102.

A relatively slowly changing ambient light background, as well as aconstant light level from the illumination can effectively be separatedfrom the object signal by filtering of a detector output. For example,the analog signal processor 114 can comprise high-pass filter or aband-pass filter to suppress a constant offset or specific frequenciessuch as a 100 or 120 Hz frequency entering the interaction volume 102from an artificial light source, respectively. Alternatively, the lightintensity of the light source 108 can be modulated by the controller 104using a carrier frequency. A digital signal processor 118 can be used toextract an object signal by separating the carrier frequency from thesignal received by the light sensor 110. That is, the signal received bythe light sensor 110 is a combination of the object signal and ambientlight signal. When the carrier frequency is removed, only the objectsignal remains.

When more than one light source is used, the controller 104 may imposeupon each one of the light sources a different modulation frequency orlight wavelength. This allows the interaction volume 102 to havedifferent regions and provide an indication of the object's locationwith greater precision that when only one light source is utilized.

According to the present technology, objects such as insects enter theinteraction volume 102 at a point in space, remain there for a period oftime, and leave it at another point in space. Usually, the objects movein only one direction. For example, insects are either flying towards anattractant or being swept along by airflow through the interactionvolume 102.

When objects enter the interaction volume 102, the light sensor 110picks up a change in light intensity characteristic of their presence,and another change in light intensity when the objects leave the volume.While the objects remain in the interaction volume 102, light levelchanges encode additional information about the object such asbiological and environmental information. Using analog and digitalsignal processing and counting means, these light level changes areprocessed by the controller 104 and result in data indicating objectcount as well as certain other information.

For example, a bigger object leads to a larger change in light level assensed by the light sensor 110. Insects beating their wings while in theinteraction volume 102 cause changing amounts of absorbed, scattered andreflected light corresponding to the wing beat frequency. Multipleobjects simultaneously present in the interaction volume 102 result in asignal that is a combination of individual object signals.

The controller 104 is configured to provide a variety of signalprocessing features. The light source 108, ambient light, noise and theobject-dependent signal are sensed by the light sensor 110 andcontribute to a light sensor output.

The output of the light sensor 110 depends on the number of objectspresent in the interaction volume 102. While ambient light is constantor slowly varying, the light absorbed, reflected, scattered or otherwisemodified by the objects in the interaction volume 102 varies over time.According to the present technology, the object-dependent signal isextracted from the light sensor 110 output with a combination of analogand digital signal processing, as mentioned above.

Initially, a time-dependent signal is generated. The digital signalprocessor 118 uses local data storage 122 to record time-dependentsignals and a computing means such as a microprocessor ormicrocontroller (referred to as processor 105). A microcontrollercomprises a microprocessor and input/output functions includinganalog-to-digital converter 116.

Some embodiments of the present technology comprise a method for dataacquisition and signal processing. For example, the controller 104 canbe configured to provide analog signal conditioning for the output ofthe light sensor 110.

In some embodiments, the controller 104 is configured to perform analogto digital signal conversion of the output of the light sensor 110 usingthe analog to digital converter 116 and digital signal processor 118.The controller 104 can also use analog signal conditioning, demodulationand amplification using an integrated circuit resulting in a bi-level(high/low) electronic “object presence” signal. The controller 104 alsoemploys A/D conversion and digital signal processing.

Examples for analog signal conditioning are high-pass, low-pass andband-pass filters.

In one embodiment, the A/D converter 116 uses a binary input port on amicrocontroller. In one embodiment, the A/D converter 116 is an analoginput port on a microcontroller. In one embodiment, the A/D converter116 uses is an integrated circuit connected to a digital input (such asa serial port) on a microcontroller.

Analog as well as digital signal processing comprise one or moretechniques from the list comprising filters, amplification, comparison,thresholding, correlation, deconvolution, pattern recognition anddemodulation—just to name a few.

In operation, when an object enters the interaction volume 102 andthereafter leaves, the controller records a sequence of transitions (noobject present->object present->no object present), which is used forcounting objects. The light produced by the light source 108 alsocarries information about objects such as wing beat frequency, size andother features of the object that is extracted from a light sensoroutput using the signal processing means of the controller 104.

The communication module 124 can comprise an interface forbi-directional data communication to transfer insect counts and otherinformation between the device 100, a remote database 126, an end usercomputer 130, and an action module 132. Information from the database isused for monitoring, report generation and initiation of action.Bi-directional communication also allows a user to configure the device100, for example, reset the object counter to zero, initiate objectcounting, or enter the GPS location of the device 100 deployed in thefield.

In one embodiment, the communication module 124 comprises at least oneof a wired connection; a wireless connection; a TCP/IP connection; aremovable memory device (e.g. flash card or USB stick); a cellularmodem; a WiFi adapter; and a Bluetooth adapter; active and passiveRFID—just to name a few.

In one embodiment, the device 100 is configured to attach time and datestamps to all data being recorded such as insect present events,biological parameters and environmental sensor readings.

Referring now to FIG. 2, in one embodiment, a wing beat frequency isdetermined as follows. A light source is illuminated in step 205. Next,an insect enters the interaction volume in step 210. In someembodiments, light source intensity is modulated by the controller 104(FIG. 1), with a carrier frequency higher than the wing beat frequencyof the insect.

If an object insect is present, the carrier frequency is modulated bythe wing beat frequency resulting in sensed light at the light sensor110 having an intensity waveform as illustrated in graph 215.

An ambient light background may be also present but is not modulated.This waveform is detected by the light sensor 110 in step 220. The lightis conditioned (a high-pass filter or a band-pass filter allowing onlysignal at the modulation frequency to pass) in step 225 using the analogfilter and converted into digital form by an A/D converter of themulti-level type in step 230.

An envelope filter removes the carrier frequency from the modulatedwaveform in step 235. The wing beat frequency then appears on the outputand is subjected to further signal processing to extract the insectpresent signal as well as a numerical value for the wing beat frequencyin step 240.

FIG. 3 is another example object detection device 300 that is similar tothe device 100 of FIG. 1 with the exception that the light sensor of thedevice 300 is divided between a dark field light sensor 305 and a brightfield light sensor 310.

FIG. 4 illustrates signal and data flow in one embodiment of the presenttechnology, using another example device 400. The device 400 of FIG. 4is similar to the device 100 of FIG. 1 with the exception that severaladditional modules are present. In particular, the device 400 comprisestemperature and relative humidity sensors 405, a wind speed sensor 410,and a clock 415 for time and date stamping data.

In one embodiment, the device 400 comprises at least one environmentalsensor from the list comprising temperature and humidity, day light,rain fall amount, cloud cover, wind speed and wind direction—just toname a few.

To be sure, light intensity is measured and processed by the device 400using any of the aforementioned processes. These signals are used bycounter 420 and wing beat value 425 modules. Information from thetemperature and relative humidity sensors 405, a wind speed sensor 410,counter module 420 and wing beat value module 425 is stored in localstorage 430. Again, this information can also be transmitted using thecommunication module, such as a cellular modem 435 (or other wired orwireless communications module), providing data to a remote database orend user computer such as a cell phone, Smartphone, laptop, PC, server,or other computing device.

Referring now to FIG. 5, another example device 500 is illustrated. Aninteraction volume 505 is a plastic cylinder of a diameter of about11+/−2.5 cm and a height of about 2.5 cm which is easily fitted toexisting insect trap 501 such as the mosquito traps type Sentinel™ orMosquitaire™, manufactured by Biogents™, Regensburg, Germany. The deviceemploys a fan to generate airflow to draw insects into a catch containeror net inside. The device 500 also comprises a 12V power supply to whichthe device 500 is connected and draws its power.

A light source 510 comprises infrared LEDs at a peak emission wavelengthof about 940 nm (NTE3027 or similar) mounted to the interaction volume505 at three locations (Location 1, 2 and 3) about 120 degrees apart,facing inward. Each location such as Location 2, comprises three LEDs510A-C, along a height. In some embodiments, each LED emits a cone oflight with a half-power angle of about 45 degrees. The cones partiallyoverlap and the entire interaction volume 505 is flooded with LED light.The LEDs are modulated at a frequency of about 10 kHz, i.e. about tentimes a typical mosquito wing beat frequency using a DSP (digital signalprocessing) module 515. The DSP module 515 comprises a microcontroller.

The inside of the interaction volume 505 comprises a retro-reflectivesurface reflecting the radiation emitted by each LED rearwardly toincrease the light intensity inside the interaction volume 505. In oneembodiment, retro-reflective tape is applied to the inside of theinteraction volume 505.

A light sensor 520 comprises a phototransistor (type NTE3033 or similar)and is mounted to the bottom of the DSP module 515, in the center of theinteraction volume 505 and facing downwardly. The light sensor 520 has anominal collection angle of about 65 degrees. In order to obtain a fullcross-sectional view of the illuminated interaction volume, the lightsensor 520 is mounted approximately 11 cm above the top of theinteraction volume 505.

This embodiment utilizes a dark field method for detecting light. Forexample, if an insect is present, it reflects or scatters light towardsthe light sensor 520.

A cellular modem module 525 is provided in the device 500 and iscombined with the microcontroller, both being packaged in a waterproofupper housing 530 that is appropriate for an outdoor environment. Themicrocontroller also provides local storage for insect count and otherparameters, as well as a USB connection for communication with a PC orhandheld device, and a removable flash card for extended local storage.

The interaction volume 505 and light source 510 are mounted inside abottom housing 535 that is fitted to an intake funnel 503 of a trap 501.The upper housing is attached about 11+/−5 cm above the bottom housingusing three posts. This construction allows the airflow generated by afan inside the trap to flow into the interaction volume 505 unimpeded.

A space 545 between the bottom housing and the upper housing isselectively adjustable to optimize sensitivity.

Referring now to FIG. 6, another example device 600 is illustrated. Thedevice 600 comprises an interaction volume 605 (shown in top view on theleft), which comprises a plastic cylinder of a diameter of about11+/−2.5 cm and a height of about 2.5 cm. This device is easily fittedto an existing insect trap 601 such as the mosquito traps type Sentinel™or Mosquitaire™, manufactured by Biogents™, Regensburg, Germany. Thedevice 600 uses a fan to generate airflow to draw insects into a catchcontainer or net inside. They also comprise a 12V power supply to whicha device 600 according to the present invention is connected and drawsits power.

A light source 610, such as a line laser with a wavelength of 650 nm anda power of 5 mW is provided in the device 600. The light detector 615 isa solar panel of the type, such as an IXYS SLMD121H09L (ninelight-sensitive elements connected in series). In one embodiment, thedevice uses analog signal processing comprising an active Sallen-Keyhigh-pass filter with a cut-off of 23 Hz to filter out the constantbackground from the light source 610 and the ambient environment, aswell as amplification of light intensity signals.

A DSP module 620 comprises a microcontroller, and a cellular modemmodule 625 comprises a cellular modem in communication with themicrocontroller, both packaged in a waterproof upper housing appropriatefor an outdoor environment. The microcontroller also provides localstorage for insect count and other parameters, as well as a USBconnection for communication with a PC or handheld device, and aremovable flash card for extended local storage.

The interaction volume 605 and light source 610 are mounted inside abottom housing 630 that is fitted to an intake funnel 603 of a trap 601.An upper housing 640 is attached about 11+/−5 cm above the bottomhousing 630 using three posts. This construction allows the airflowgenerated by the fan inside the trap to flow into the illuminatedinteraction volume unimpeded. As with the device 500 of FIG. 5, a spacebetween the bottom housing and the upper housing is adjustable tooptimize sensitivity.

FIG. 7 illustrates various arrays used in light sources. Light source700 includes a linear array of LEDs. Light source 705 comprises twolinear arrays of LEDs. Linear array 710 comprises five linear arrays ofLEDs.

FIG. 8 illustrates various arrays used in light sensors. Light sensor800 comprises a linear array of photodiodes. Light sensor 805 comprisestwo linear arrays of solar cells. Light sensor 810 comprises a lineararray of photodiodes 815 and two linear arrays of solar cells 820 and825.

Light sensor 830 comprises two linear arrays of photodiodes. Lightsensor 835 comprises a linear array of photodiodes and a single solarcell that extends the length of the light sensor 835.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example selection of a matched light source 900and light sensor 905. The light source 900 comprises a linear array ofLEDs 910. The light sensor 905 comprises two linear arrays of solarcells and a linear array of photodiodes. In order to achieve uniformsensitivity, the length L₁ of the LED array exceeds the length L₂ of thedetector arrays. The light source 900 and light sensor 905 areconfigured for use in an interaction volume 915, as illustrated in FIG.10 and FIG. 11.

As an example, in order to obtain an interaction volume 915 with uniformsensitivity, the following design can be employed. The light source is astrip of infrared LEDs emitting at 875 nm mounted to a printed circuitboard (PCB) of dimensions 164×35 mm (LED width: 2.34 mm (max); LEDheight: 2.16 mm (max); Pitch: 5.0 mm; Total width: 147.34 mm[(30−1)×5+2.34]; Center line: 5 mm from top edge; Middle at 82 mm fromleft/right edge).

Six strings of five LEDs in series are connected to a currentcontroller. The light sensor 905 comprises two channels. A first channelcomprises a strip of infrared photodiodes and a second channel comprisestwo rows of solar cells. These channels are mounted to a printed circuitboard (PCB) of dimensions 164×35 mm.

With respect to channel one: photodiode width: 2.34 mm (max); photodiodeheight: 2.16 mm (max); Pitch: 2.5 mm; Total width: 102.34 mm[(41−1)×2.5+2.34]; Center line: 5 mm from top edge; Middle at 82 mm fromleft/right edge. With respect to channel two: 10× Si Solar Cell; Width:22 mm; Height: 7.5 mm; Pitch: 23 mm; Offset top to bottom row: 5 mm;White stripe is cathode (−); Total width: 117 mm; Top: 10 mm from PCBtop edge; Middle at 82 mm from left/right edge.

In some embodiments, the LED array is longer than the sensor array byabout 50%, which results in uniform illumination of the interactionvolume and the sensor array, resulting in uniform intensity.

The photodiode array and the solar cell array are each wired inparallel, which results in uniform, smooth sensitivity, as evidenced ina model of FIG. 12, even with gaps between individual LEDs and sensorelements (or “pixels”). These particular configurations provideunexpected results in their remarkable uniformity with respect to lightintensity.

FIG. 12 illustrates a model of light in the interaction volume in thedevice of FIGS. 9-11. The model illustrates that even with the discretenature and small area of the LEDs and photodiodes, smooth and uniformsensitivity is obtained for objects passing through the interactionvolume. As an object travels through the interaction volumeperpendicular to the plane defined by the light sources and detectors,part of the light from the illumination is obscured, resulting in achange of light hitting the detector. This light change is detected andprocessed using any of the methods described above. The aspect ofuniform sensitivity allows object size classification by light intensitychanges.

FIG. 13 is a graph obtained using the device of FIGS. 9-11. The graphillustrates a signal that was obtained from the photodiode array with amosquito passing through the interaction volume. The size of its shadowchanges as it beats its wings. This wingbeat modulation is clearlyvisible. Also, the amplitude of the signal depends on the size of theobject. Both signal amplitude and modulations are used to distinguishdifferent type of insects, and to distinguish living objects (e.g.insects) from inanimate objects (e.g. raindrops).

FIG. 14 is another graph obtained using the device of FIGS. 9-11. Thegraph illustrates a signal that was obtained from the solar cell array.Since the solar cells are larger, a signal is recorded for a longertime, so more cycles of the modulation due to wingbeat can be observedand be used for discrimination between different kinds of insects.

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic representation of an example machine in theform of a computer system 1, within which a set of instructions forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein may be executed. In various example embodiments, themachine operates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g.,networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine mayoperate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in aserver-client network environment, or as a peer machine in apeer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine may be arobotic construction marking device, a base station, a personal computer(PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant(PDA), a cellular telephone, a portable music player (e.g., a portablehard drive audio device such as an Moving Picture Experts Group AudioLayer 3 (MP3) player), a web appliance, a network router, switch orbridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by thatmachine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term“machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines thatindividually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructionsto perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 1 includes a processor or multipleprocessors 5 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), or both), and a main memory 10 and static memory15, which communicate with each other via a bus 20. The computer system1 may further include a video display 35 (e.g., a liquid crystal display(LCD)). The computer system 1 may also include an alpha-numeric inputdevice(s) 30 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device (e.g., amouse), a voice recognition or biometric verification unit (not shown),a drive unit 37 (also referred to as disk drive unit), a signalgeneration device 40 (e.g., a speaker), and a network interface device45. The computer system 1 may further include a data encryption module(not shown) to encrypt data.

The disk drive unit 37 includes a computer or machine-readable medium 50on which is stored one or more sets of instructions and data structures(e.g., instructions 55) embodying or utilizing any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 55 mayalso reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 10and/or within the processors 5 during execution thereof by the computersystem 1. The main memory 10 and the processors 5 may also constitutemachine-readable media.

The instructions 55 may further be transmitted or received over anetwork via the network interface device 45 utilizing any one of anumber of well-known transfer protocols (e.g., Hyper Text TransferProtocol (HTTP)). While the machine-readable medium 50 is shown in anexample embodiment to be a single medium, the term “computer-readablemedium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media(e.g., a centralized or distributed database and/or associated cachesand servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any mediumthat is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying a set of instructionsfor execution by the machine and that causes the machine to perform anyone or more of the methodologies of the present application, or that iscapable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures utilized by orassociated with such a set of instructions. The term “computer-readablemedium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to,solid-state memories, optical and magnetic media, and carrier wavesignals. Such media may also include, without limitation, hard disks,floppy disks, flash memory cards, digital video disks, random accessmemory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), and the like. The exampleembodiments described herein may be implemented in an operatingenvironment comprising software installed on a computer, in hardware, orin a combination of software and hardware.

Not all components of the computer system 1 are required and thusportions of the computer system 1 can be removed if not needed, such asI/O devices.

According to further exemplary embodiments, a volume of space isirradiated with light from a light source. Objects in the volume oflight (for example, flying insects or manufactured articles) modify thelight intensity by absorbing, scattering and reflecting light, resultingin a change of the intensity of light exiting from the volume. A lightsensor having a light-sensitive area is placed in a location suitablefor detecting light from the volume. The light sensor is connected tomeans for amplifying, filtering and digitizing the light signal and todigital signal processing means.

When objects enter the volume of space from one direction and thereafterleave it in the same or another direction, the light sensor recordschanges in the light intensity which are used for the detection of thepresence of objects, counting of objects, determining object size, or(if the object is an insect) extracting a wingbeat signal comprising atleast a fundamental frequency and optionally harmonic frequencies.

The term “light” is used to refer to the electromagnetic radiation usedin the invention. Commonly, “light” designates electromagnetic radiationin the ultraviolet (UV), visible, and infrared (IR) part of theelectromagnetic spectrum. Light in all these spectral ranges may be usedin the invention.

An Object Detection System (ODS) according to the present inventioncomprises at least one light source, an illuminated interaction volume(IIV), at least one light sensor with an area, and means for signalamplification, conditioning, analog-to-digital conversion, signalprocessing, counting, and data communication. Another attribute of theinvention is the ability to attach time and date stamps to all recordeddata, and communication with a remote database.

The light sensor has an area to increase the amount of collected light.Typical light detectors such as photodiodes have a very small active(light-sensitive) surface. In accordance with the present invention, thearea may be increased with the combination of a lens with a lightdetector, or by arranging multiple light detectors in a one- ortwo-dimensional array.

It should be noted that the change in light due to the presence of anobject is not constant, rather it is a time-dependent function of theobject's speed, shape, orientation, size, motion comprising wing beat(which changes the amount of light in a rhythmic pattern), and otherintrinsic and environmental parameters.

There are many locations that can be chosen to position a light sourceand a light sensor, in part depending on the configuration of theobject-detecting device such as the shape of the IIV, and thecombination with a device to sort the objects according to a property ofthe object.

The light sensor also is subject to impingement by ambient backgroundlight, that is, light not originating from the light source or objectbut from sources nearby the device. The ambient background light can besignificant and possibly exceed the signal generated by an object.

In one embodiment of an ODS according to the present invention, objectssuch as insects enter the illuminated interaction volume at a point inspace, remain there for a period of time, and leave it at another pointin space. Usually, they move in only one direction; for example, insectsare either flying towards an attractant or being swept along by airflow.When objects enter the volume, the light sensor picks up a change inlight intensity characteristic of their presence, and another changewhen objects leave the volume. While the objects remain in the IIV,light level changes encode additional information about the object suchas biological and environmental information.

It is desirable to extend the time the object spends in the IlluminatedInteraction Volume in order to be able to collect more information, orinformation with higher resolution. For example, in order to detect awingbeat frequency of about 500 Hz, it is desirable to have aninteraction time of several 10s of milliseconds so that several cyclesof wing beat are available for Fourier analysis.

Using analog and digital signal processing and counting means, theselight level changes are processed and result in data indicating objectcount as well as certain other information. For example, a bigger objectleads to a larger change in light level. Insects beating their wingswhile in the illuminated interaction volume cause changing amounts ofabsorbed, scattered and reflected light corresponding to the wing beatfrequency. Multiple objects simultaneously present in the IIV result ina signal that is a combination of individual object signals.

Referring now to FIG. 16, in one embodiment (a), the light sourcecomprises at least one light-emitting element 100 and a collimating lens101 or mirror arranged to produce a collimated beam of light 110. Inanother embodiment (b), the light source comprises a two-dimensionalarray 103 of light-emitting elements 100, preferably with small emissionangles 105, producing a beam of light 111. The light-emitting elementsmay be mounted to a printed circuit board, 104. The printed circuitboard 104 may have at least one opening in order to place it in anairstream. In another embodiment (c), the light source comprises atleast one light-emitting element 100 emitting a beam 112. In anotherembodiment, the light source is a backlight similar to light sourcesused in flat panel displays or car instruments.

It should be noted that only a few rays of light are shown for each beamto illustrate the general shape and nature of the beams.

In one embodiment, a light-emitting element is of the LED(light-emitting diode) type. In one embodiment, the light source is aplurality of LEDs. In one embodiment, a light-emitting element is alaser. In one embodiment, a light-emitting element is a VCSEL(vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser). In one embodiment, alight-emitting element is an incandescent light bulb.

In one embodiment, the light source emits light in the UV or visiblerange. In one embodiment, the light source emits light in the infrared(IR) range. IR light is present in an ambient light background at alevel lower than visible or UV light and thus IR illuminationfacilitates background suppression. In addition, NIR illumination isusually not perceived by living objects such as insects.

In one embodiment, the light source emits a collimated beam having across-sectional area of similar dimension as the IIV. In one embodiment,the light source resembles a spotlight, emitting a beam with across-sectional area that changes little with distance. In oneembodiment, the light source resembles a floodlight emitting a divergentbeam, i.e. a beam with a cross-sectional area that increases withdistance from the light source.

In one embodiment, the intensity of a light-emitting element ismodulated with a periodic waveform or carrier frequency selected from alist comprising the following types: a rectangular wave and a sine wave.In one embodiment, the modulation frequency is greater or equal to 100Hz. In another embodiment, the modulation frequency is 3 kHz, 5 kHz, 10kHz, 30 kHz, 33 kHz, 36 kHz, 38 kHz, 40 kHz and 56 kHz. It is notnecessary for a modulated light source to have a minimum intensity ofzero or to even be periodic; rather, the property that the intensity istime-dependent following a predefined pattern is the novel anddistinguishing factor. In one embodiment, a plurality of light-emittingelements is modulated at different frequencies.

The illuminated interaction volume has a three-dimensional shape.Referring to FIG. 18, preferred shapes are a cylinder 301, a box 302, acone 303, or a pie slice 304. In one embodiment, the illuminatedinteraction volume contains a plurality of smaller volumes that areoverlapping, adjacent or separated by small volumes of space.

The illuminated interaction volume has a cross section and a height,with the height dimension being the one closest to the direction of thelight beam. The cross section is at least 1 cm2 and the height is atleast 0.1 mm. It is preferred to have the illuminated interaction volumeto be large along the path of an object through it to extend theobservation time.

In one embodiment, the light emitted from a light-emitting element isdistributed throughout the illumination interaction volume using atleast one optical element from a list comprising lenses, Fresnel lenses,cylindrical lenses, mirrors, reflectors, retro-reflectors, filters(comprising high-pass, low-pass, single-wavelength, band-path anddichroic), beam blocks, beam splitters, apertures, beam dumps, shutters,absorbers, diffusers and laser line generators.

Referring now to FIG. 17, in one embodiment (a), the sensor comprises atleast one light-sensitive element 200 and a focusing lens 201 or mirrorarranged to focus a beam of light 110 on a light-sensitive element 200.In one embodiment (b), the light sensor comprises a two-dimensionalarray 203 of light-sensitive elements 200, sensing a beam of light 211.The light-sensing elements may be mounted to a printed circuit board,204. The printed circuit board 204 may have at least one opening inorder to place it in an airstream. In one embodiment, the light sensoris solar cell. In another embodiment (c), the light sensor comprises atleast one light-sensing element 200 to collect a beam 212. It should benoted that only a few rays of light are shown for each beam toillustrate the general shape and nature of the beams.

Objects in the Illuminated Interaction Volume absorb, scatter andreflect light. At least one light sensor each comprising at least onelight-sensitive element is placed in at least one location from the listcomprising: a location suitable for sensing light that passes throughand exits the volume (bright field detection); a location suitable forsensing scattered or reflected light only (dark field detection); and alocation for sensing the light intensity inside the volume(integration).

The light sensor comprises a light-sensitive element chosen from a listcomprising photodiodes; phototransistors; photoresistors; CCDs;position-sensitive detectors; solar cells; antennas; and thermopiles. Inone embodiment, a light sensor comprises a single light-sensitiveelement (example: a photodiode) and a focusing lens. In one embodiment,a light sensor comprises a plurality of light-sensitive elements. In oneembodiment, a light sensor comprises a line or two-dimensional array ofphotodiodes. In one embodiment, a light sensor comprises an imagingdevice.

Image sensors may be of the type commonly used in consumer electronics(e.g. cell phones cameras) and based on photodiodes, CCDs or CMOSpixels. Another image sensor is a high-speed camera. In one embodiment,a light sensor comprises a spectrometer. In one embodiment, a lightsensor comprises a line scan camera.

A solar cell is essentially a photodiode with a large area. Commonlyused types include monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, andamorphous silicon. These types vary in their sensitivity to light ofdifferent wavelength, as well as the voltages and currents they arecapable of generating.

Solar cells and photodiodes have two modes of operation: photovoltaic(PV) and photoconductive (PC).

In the PV mode, a load is connected between the positive terminal(anode) and the negative terminal (cathode). Upon incidence of light, ano-load voltage of approximately 0.5 to 0.7 Volts builds up. A positivecurrent can be drawn from the cell and thus power can be generated.

In the PC mode, the connections are reversed. In an ideal diode, nocurrent would be able to flow. In a photodiode, a “reverse mode current”flows that is substantially proportional to the incident light intensityand responds quickly to changes. This mode is preferred for sensing oflight intensity.

Usually, solar cells are used in PV mode for power generation, andphotodiodes are used in PC mode as a light detector. However, a solarcell may also be used in PC mode as a light detector.

In one embodiment, the spectral sensitivity response of a light sensorhas a maximum near the peak emission of a light-emitting element. In oneembodiment, each of a plurality of light-sensitive elements has maximumsensitivity near the peak emission of at least one of a plurality oflight-emitting elements. In one embodiment, a light sensor is equippedwith a filter to transmit the wavelength of a light-emitting element. Inone embodiment, a plurality of light sensing elements senses light fromlight-emitting elements with different modulation frequencies. In oneembodiment, a light sensor is equipped with a filter rejecting daylightand transmitting infrared light. In one embodiment, a light-sensitiveelement is equipped with a filter rejecting daylight and transmittinginfrared light.

It is one objective of the present invention to provide an ODS with asensitive large-area light sensor. This sensor may be realized indifferent but conceptually equivalent ways: a solar panel; atwo-dimensional array of light-sensitive elements; a focusing lens ormirror and at least one light-sensitive element.

The light source, ambient light background, noise and theobject-dependent signal all contribute to a light sensor output. Also, alight sensor output depends on the number of objects present in thevolume. While an ambient light background is constant or slowly varying,the light absorbed, reflected, scattered or otherwise modified byobjects varies in time fast in comparison. According to the presentinvention, the object-dependent signal is extracted from the lightsensor output with a combination of analog and digital signalprocessing.

In all embodiments, a time-dependent signal is generated which isprocessed as schematically shown in FIG. 4. The digital signalprocessing means comprises storage means to record time-dependentsignals and a computing means such as a microprocessor ormicrocontroller. A microcontroller comprises a micro-processor andinput/output functions including analog-to-digital conversion.

Embodiments of the present invention may comprise a method for dataacquisition and signal processing from the list comprising: analogsignal conditioning, demodulation or amplification using discretecomponents resulting in a electronic insect from a continuous range,followed by A/D conversion and digital signal processing; analog signalconditioning, demodulation or amplification using an integrated circuitresulting in a bi-level (high/low) electronic insect signal, followed byA/D conversion and digital signal processing; analog signal conditioningfollowed by A/D conversion and digital signal processing; light sensoroutput connected directly to an A/D converter or an input port of amicrocontroller. Examples for analog signal conditioning are high-pass,low-pass and band-pass filters.

In one embodiment, the A/D conversion means is a binary input port on amicrocontroller. In one embodiment, the A/D conversion means is ananalog input port on a microcontroller. In one embodiment, the A/Dconverter is an integrated circuit connected to a digital input (such asa serial port) on a microcontroller.

Analog or digital signal processing comprise one or more techniques fromthe list comprising filters, amplification, comparison, thresholding,correlation, Fourier transform, deconvolution, pattern recognition,demodulation, and classification.

When an object enters the volume of space and thereafter leaves it, theObject Detection System records a sequence of transitions (no objectpresent->object present->no object present), which may be used forcounting objects. The light also carries information about objects suchas wing beat frequency, size and other features of the object, which maybe extracted from a light sensor signal using the signal processingmeans.

In one embodiment, the Object Detection System with Extended ObservationTime may be combined with an Object Detection System as described inWO2015126855 A1, which may be used as a counter, as well as a trigger tostart the observation of wing beat.

These embodiments are exemplary only. The spirit and intent of thepresent invention allows for other arrangements of analog and digitalsignal processing to be used for converting a light sensor signal to anobject signal.

In one embodiment (FIG. 19), a wing beat frequency is determined asfollows: The light source intensity is constant, and passes lightthrough the Illuminated Interaction Volume. If an object (insect)beating its wings is present in the Illuminated Interaction Volume, amodulation representative of the wing beat signal is superimposed on aconstant background resulting in light with a time-dependent intensitywaveform. An ambient light background may be also present but is notmodulated. The waveform may be detected by the light sensor in eitherbright field (shown) or dark field configuration resulting in atime-dependent signal. The signal may be conditioned (for example, witha high-pass filter to remove a constant light background) and then maybe converted into digital form by an A/D converter. The digital signalmay be processed with Signal Processing, which may include a FourierTransform. The result is a spectrum of the wingbeat signal, with one ormore peaks representative of a fundamental frequency as well asharmonics.

The light sensor may be placed below the light source as schematicallyshown in FIG. 19, but in accordance with the present invention, thearrangement could be reversed or otherwise changed, as long as in abright field configuration light source and light sensor are placed onsubstantially opposite sides (for example, top-bottom, left-right) ofthe illuminated interaction volume. In a dark field configuration, thelight sensor may be placed on the same side as the light source, or inany location in which light rays from the light source do not directlyreach the light sensor.

In one embodiment (FIG. 2), a wing beat frequency is determined asfollows: The light source intensity is modulated with a carrierfrequency higher than the wing beat frequency, and passes light throughthe Illuminated Interaction Volume. If an object insect is present, thecarrier frequency is modulated by the wing beat frequency resulting inlight with a time-dependent intensity waveform. An ambient lightbackground may be also present but is not modulated. The waveform may bedetected by the detector in either bright field or dark fieldconfiguration resulting in a time-dependent signal. The signal may beconditioned (for example, with a high-pass filter, or a band-pass filterallowing only signal at the modulation frequency to pass) and then maybe converted into digital form by an A/D converter. An Envelope Filterremoves the carrier frequency from the modulated waveform. The wing beatsignal then appears on the output of the envelope filter and may besubjected to further signal processing which may include a Fouriertransform. The result is a spectrum of the intensity waveformrepresentative of the wingbeat signal, with one or more peaksrepresentative of a fundamental frequency as well as harmonics.

In one embodiment (see FIG. 4), the invention comprises at least oneenvironmental sensor from the list comprising temperature and humidity(T & RH), rainfall amount, cloud cover, wind speed, wind direction andsolar radiation.

The invention comprises means for local storage of data. The inventionalso comprises a means for bi-directional data communication to transferinsect counts and other information between the invention, a remotedatabase, a user's cellphone (for example, by text messaging), or acomputing means. Information from the database is used for monitoring,report generation and initiation of action. Bi-directional communicationalso allows a user to configure the invention, for example, reset theobject counter to zero and initiate counting, or determine the locationof an ODS deployed in the field.

In one embodiment, the data communication means comprises at least onedevice from a list comprising: a wired connection; a wirelessconnection; a TCP/IP connection; a removable memory device (e.g. flashcard or USB stick); a cellular modem; a WiFi adapter; a Bluetoothadapter; an XBEE module provided by Digi, Inc.

In one embodiment, the invention comprises a real-time clock forattaching time and date stamps to all data being recorded such as insectpresent events, biological parameters and environmental sensor readings.

FIG. 4 also illustrates signal and data flow in one embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring now to FIG. 20, the preferred embodiment includes combinationwith an insect trap.

The illuminated interaction volume 701 is a plastic cylinder of adiameter of 10+/−5 cm and a height h of 10-30 cm which is fitted toexisting insect trap designs such as the mosquito trap 710 type Sentinelor Mosquitaire which may include a funnel 711, manufactured by Biogents,Regensburg, Germany. These traps use a fan 705 to generate airflow 704to draw insects 706 through the plastic cylinder along the path shownand into a catch container or net inside the trap. They also comprise a12V power supply to which an Object Detection System according to thepresent invention may be connected and from which it may draw its power.

The light source 702 is a two-dimensional array of infrared LEDsattached above the illuminated interaction volume. The light sensor 703is a two-dimensional array of photodiodes, which may have a filter toremove visible light. The arrangement of the light source 702 and thelight sensor 703 may be reversed. Also, either may have perforations toallow airflow to pass through. This construction allows the airflowgenerated by the fan inside the trap to flow into and through theilluminated interaction volume.

The residence time T of an insect inside the Illuminated InteractionVolume can be estimated by dividing the height h by the linear velocityof the airflow v. With h=10 cm=0.1 m, v=3 m/sec, a residence time T=0.03sec results. If a wingbeat frequency is 500 Hz, this corresponds to 15cycles. The residence time can be increased by increasing the height hor decreasing the air velocity v. For example, with h=30 cm=0.3 m, aresidence time T of 90 milliseconds corresponding to 45 wingbeat cyclesis obtained.

The Signal Processing module 707 comprises a microcontroller and acellular modem in communication with the microcontroller in a housing.The microcontroller also provides local storage for insect count andother parameters, as well as a USB connection for communication with aPC or handheld device.

The preferred embodiment comprises a real-time clock to provide a timestamp for all data acquired and stored locally, as well as cellulartransmission to the remote database and bi-directional datatransmission.

Referring now to FIG. 21, several alternative embodiments are providedhere which serve as examples only and are by no means intended to belimiting.

In one embodiment, the Illuminated Interaction Volume 801 has the shapeof a box. The light source 801 has at least one row of light-emittingelements and the light sensor 802 has at least one row of light-sensingelements. An airflow 804 may be provided through the IlluminatedInteraction Volume 801.

The following exemplary embodiments use the dark field mode ofdetection.

Referring now to FIG. 22(a), a light-emitting element 901 and alight-sensing element 902 are mounted next to each other. A lens 902creates a collimated beam of light 910. The light 911 scattered orreflected from an object 909 is collected by lens 903 and focused onlight-sensitive element 902.

Referring now to FIG. 22(b), the function of light source and lightsensor are combined in one module 903 comprising at least onelight-emitting element 900 and at least one light-sensing element 901.Conveniently, the light-emitting elements 900 and the light-sensingelements may be mounted to a printed circuit board 904. Thelight-emitting elements 900 produce a light beam 910. The light 911scattered or reflected from an object 909 is detected by thelight-sensing elements 901 in module 903.

Referring now to FIG. 22(c), provided are a light-emitting element 900and a light-sensing element 901 which may be mounted adjacent tolight-emitting element 900, or some distance away. Light-emittingelement 900 emits a beam of light 912. At least some of the lightreflected or scattered by insect 909 is collected by light-sensingelement 901.

Referring now to FIG. 23, several embodiments combining various aspectsfrom FIG. 22 are shown. In one embodiment, the at least onelight-emitting element 900 is mounted in the center of a plurality oflight-sensing elements 901, as shown in FIG. 23(b). Compared to theembodiment shown in FIG. 22(c), this arrangement collects more of thelight reflected or scattered by object 909. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 23(c), the efficiency of illumination and light collection may befurther enhanced by inserting a lens 902, preferably of the Fresneltype, into the beam path. This lens has the dual function of collimatingthe light from the light-emitting element and at least partiallyfocusing light scattered or reflected from object 909.

In yet a further embodiment, wing beat frequencies may be correlatedwith specific mosquito species, most notably those species known to bedisease carriers. Upon the occurrence of a particular frequency, theIlluminated Interaction Volume may be modified to include an automaticclosure mechanism triggered by the particular frequency in order toretain the mosquitos for further analysis.

In another embodiment, a plurality of Object Detection Systems may besystematically dispersed across a particular geographic region. EachObject Detection System will be equipped with a GPS transmittercommunicatively coupled to a network, and the respective locations willbe transmitted to a display screen for analysis of migration patterns,species information and the like. Additionally, a plurality of pesticideemitters communicatively coupled to the same network may besystematically dispersed across the same geographic region. Upon theoccurrence of certain triggers as determined by the networked ObjectDetection Systems, one or more of the pesticide emitters may emitpesticide, and data may be collected as to the effectiveness of suchpesticide applications.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present technology has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the present technology in the form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the presenttechnology. Exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order tobest explain the principles of the present technology and its practicalapplication, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art tounderstand the present technology for various embodiments with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Aspects of the present technology are described above with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of thepresent technology. It will be understood that each block of theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations ofblocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can beimplemented by computer program instructions. These computer programinstructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus, create means for implementing thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present technology. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

In the following description, for purposes of explanation and notlimitation, specific details are set forth, such as particularembodiments, procedures, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent toone skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced inother embodiments that depart from these specific details.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, theappearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” or“according to one embodiment” (or other phrases having similar import)at various places throughout this specification are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features,structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner inone or more embodiments. Furthermore, depending on the context ofdiscussion herein, a singular term may include its plural forms and aplural term may include its singular form. Similarly, a hyphenated term(e.g., “on-demand”) may be occasionally interchangeably used with itsnon-hyphenated version (e.g., “on demand”), a capitalized entry (e.g.,“Software”) may be interchangeably used with its non-capitalized version(e.g., “software”), a plural term may be indicated with or without anapostrophe (e.g., PE's or PEs), and an italicized term (e.g., “N+1”) maybe interchangeably used with its non-italicized version (e.g., “N+1”).Such occasional interchangeable uses shall not be consideredinconsistent with each other.

Also, some embodiments may be described in terms of “means for”performing a task or set of tasks. It will be understood that a “meansfor” may be expressed herein in terms of a structure, such as aprocessor, a memory, an I/O device such as a camera, or combinationsthereof. Alternatively, the “means for” may include an algorithm that isdescriptive of a function or method step, while in yet other embodimentsthe “means for” is expressed in terms of a mathematical formula, prose,or as a flow chart or signal diagram.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

It is noted at the outset that the terms “coupled,” “connected”,“connecting,” “electrically connected,” etc., are used interchangeablyherein to generally refer to the condition of beingelectrically/electronically connected. Similarly, a first entity isconsidered to be in “communication” with a second entity (or entities)when the first entity electrically sends and/or receives (whetherthrough wireline or wireless means) information signals (whethercontaining data information or non-data/control information) to thesecond entity regardless of the type (analog or digital) of thosesignals. It is further noted that various figures (including componentdiagrams) shown and discussed herein are for illustrative purpose only,and are not drawn to scale.

If any disclosures are incorporated herein by reference and suchincorporated disclosures conflict in part and/or in whole with thepresent disclosure, then to the extent of conflict, and/or broaderdisclosure, and/or broader definition of terms, the present disclosurecontrols. If such incorporated disclosures conflict in part and/or inwhole with one another, then to the extent of conflict, the later-dateddisclosure controls.

The terminology used herein can imply direct or indirect, full orpartial, temporary or permanent, immediate or delayed, synchronous orasynchronous, action or inaction. For example, when an element isreferred to as being “on,” “connected” or “coupled” to another element,then the element can be directly on, connected or coupled to the otherelement and/or intervening elements may be present, including indirectand/or direct variants. In contrast, when an element is referred to asbeing “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element,there are no intervening elements present.

Although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describevarious elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, theseelements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should notnecessarily be limited by such terms. These terms are only used todistinguish one element, component, region, layer or section fromanother element, component, region, layer or section. Thus, a firstelement, component, region, layer or section discussed below could betermed a second element, component, region, layer or section withoutdeparting from the teachings of the present disclosure.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be necessarily limiting of thedisclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “includes” and/or“comprising,” “including” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein withreference to illustrations of idealized embodiments (and intermediatestructures) of the present disclosure. As such, variations from theshapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturingtechniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, the exampleembodiments of the present disclosure should not be construed asnecessarily limited to the particular shapes of regions illustratedherein, but are to include deviations in shapes that result, forexample, from manufacturing.

Any and/or all elements, as disclosed herein, can be formed from a same,structurally continuous piece, such as being unitary, and/or beseparately manufactured and/or connected, such as being an assemblyand/or modules. Any and/or all elements, as disclosed herein, can bemanufactured via any manufacturing processes, whether additivemanufacturing, subtractive manufacturing and/or other any other types ofmanufacturing. For example, some manufacturing processes include threedimensional (3D) printing, laser cutting, computer numerical control(CNC) routing, milling, pressing, stamping, vacuum forming,hydroforming, injection molding, lithography and/or others.

Any and/or all elements, as disclosed herein, can include, whetherpartially and/or fully, a solid, including a metal, a mineral, aceramic, an amorphous solid, such as glass, a glass ceramic, an organicsolid, such as wood and/or a polymer, such as rubber, a compositematerial, a semiconductor, a nano-material, a biomaterial and/or anycombinations thereof. Any and/or all elements, as disclosed herein, caninclude, whether partially and/or fully, a coating, including aninformational coating, such as ink, an adhesive coating, a melt-adhesivecoating, such as vacuum seal and/or heat seal, a release coating, suchas tape liner, a low surface energy coating, an optical coating, such asfor tint, color, hue, saturation, tone, shade, transparency,translucency, non-transparency, luminescence, anti-reflection and/orholographic, a photo-sensitive coating, an electronic and/or thermalproperty coating, such as for passivity, insulation, resistance orconduction, a magnetic coating, a water-resistant and/or waterproofcoating, a scent coating and/or any combinations thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. Theterms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should beinterpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning inthe context of the relevant art and should not be interpreted in anidealized and/or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Furthermore, relative terms such as “below,” “lower,” “above,” and“upper” may be used herein to describe one element's relationship toanother element as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Suchrelative terms are intended to encompass different orientations ofillustrated technologies in addition to the orientation depicted in theaccompanying drawings. For example, if a device in the accompanyingdrawings is turned over, then the elements described as being on the“lower” side of other elements would then be oriented on “upper” sidesof the other elements. Similarly, if the device in one of the figures isturned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elementswould then be oriented “above” the other elements. Therefore, theexample terms “below” and “lower” can, therefore, encompass both anorientation of above and below.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. The descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention to the particular forms set forth herein. To the contrary, thepresent descriptions are intended to cover such alternatives,modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and otherwiseappreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the breadth andscope of a preferred embodiment should not be limited by any of theabove-described exemplary embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. An object detection system, comprising: aninteraction volume; at least one LED for illuminating the interactionvolume with light; and at least one light detector arranged to recordscattered or reflected light from objects within the interaction volume.2. The object detection system of claim 1, further comprising at leastone optical element to collimate, focus or collect light.
 3. The objectdetection system of claim 1, the at least one light detector configuredto detect a waveform of light that is resultant from a modulation of thelight intensity by a wing beat or by biometric markers.
 4. The objectdetection system of claim 1, further comprising at least two LEDs ofdifferent wavelengths.
 5. The object detection system of claim 1,further comprising at least two light detectors with filters.
 6. Theobject detection system of claim 1, wherein the objects are insects. 7.The object detection system of claim 1, further comprising a controller.8. The object detection system of claim 7, the controller configured totime stamp signals received from the at least one light detector.
 9. Theobject detection system of claim 1, further comprising a communicationmodule to wirelessly transmit a signal.
 10. The object detection systemof claim 9, further comprising: the communication module configured towirelessly transmit the signal received from the at least one lightdetector to a server for further processing of the signal.
 11. An objectdetection system comprising: an interaction volume; at least one lightsource for illuminating the interaction volume with a light; at leastone light sensor that senses disturbances in light intensity due toobjects within the interaction volume; a controller that is configuredto detect an object or object behavior within the interaction volumebased on the disturbances in the light intensity, and wherein thecontroller is further configured to detect a waveform of light that isresultant from a modulation of the light intensity by a wing beat or bybiometric markers.
 12. The object detection system of claim 11, furthercomprising at least one optical element to collimate, focus or collectlight.
 13. The object detection system of claim 11, further comprising:the controller configured to time stamp signals received from the atleast one light sensor.
 14. The object detection system of claim 11,further comprising: the controller configured to classify the type ofobject.
 15. The object detection system of claim 11, wherein the objectis an insect.
 16. The object detection system of claim 11, furthercomprising the controller configured to detect and record a sequence.17. The object detection system of claim 16, the sequence comprising afirst time at which an object is not present in the interaction volume,a second time at which the object is present in the interaction volume,and a third time at which the object is not present in the interactionvolume.
 18. The object detection system of claim 17, wherein detectingthe sequence indicates a count of the object in the interaction volume.19. The object detection system of claim 18, further comprising: thecommunication module configured to wirelessly transmit object counts toa server for further processing.
 20. The object detection system ofclaim 11, further comprising detecting light from the light source thatis extinguished by the wing beat or by a biometric marker.
 21. Theobject detection system of claim 11, further comprising detecting lightfrom the light source that is modulated by the wing beat or by abiometric marker.
 22. The object detection system of claim 11, furthercomprising detecting light within the interaction volume that isscattered or reflected back to the at least one light sensor.
 23. Theobject detection system of claim 11, further comprising a trap connectedto the interaction volume.
 24. An object detection system, comprising: alight source comprising at least one light emitting device; at least onelight sensor being masked or equipped with a filter; an interactionvolume defined by a space between the light source and the at least onelight sensor; and wherein a controller is configured to detect awaveform of light that is resultant from a modulation of the lightintensity by a wing beat or by biometric markers.
 25. The objectdetection system of claim 24, further comprising at least one opticalelement to collimate, focus or collect light.
 26. The object detectionsystem of claim 24, further comprising the at least one light sensorsenses disturbances in the light intensity indicative of a presence ofan object in the interaction volume.